Teaching towards Democracy with Postmodern and Popular Culture Texts

This edited volume explores popular literary and media texts that have been
chosen by the authors for their meaningfulness to the lives of young people. The
chapters focus on different genres such as science fiction, dystopia and fantasy,
as well as different media, such as graphic novels, postmodern picture books and
video games in English language arts classes. In the introduction one of the editors,
Patricia Paugh, outlines the humanising dimension and critical pedagogy approach
of the volume that aims to underpin the social and ethical-moral training of future
citizens (2) and inspire a critical pedagogical disposition in the classroom.

The ensuing chapters offer conceptual evidence and discussion based on theories
of reader response, critical literacy and new literacies intended to position
students to use literacy as part of a social community, both real and imagined,
in ways that prepare them not only to be 21st century workers but more importantly
to be 21st century citizens, innovating and creating new relationships that keep
social justice and equity at the forefront (3). Thus the volume is connected to
the on-going debate "between those who advocate for standardization in education
and those who advocate for education to be culturally, linguistically and socially
responsive" (4). The following fourteen chapters provide the arguments for social
responsiveness and for the critical agency of the student reader, with suggestions
for activities and concrete examples of classroom practices. The book mostly
convinces me as a reader, and the arguments resound strongly in coming from
practitioners and scholars who take the needs of students as well as those of society
very seriously. My reservations in recommending this book are mostly connected to
the matter of presentation.

The edited volume is published by Sense Publishers, who deserve to be commended
for their interest in and support of progressive writing on education and literacy.
Nonetheless, far better polishing of the final product by publishers and editors
would have produced a higher quality volume. The results of the copyediting,
proofreading and, in my copy at least, extremely uneven printing are all disappointing.
There are examples of mini slips throughout the chapters, such as the use of singular
instead of plural or vice versa, and missing prepositions and articles. Educationalists,
teachers and student teachers who demand a highly polished book may find this difficult
to ignore. I believe, however, that many readers deeply engaged in education will
be able to overlook these faults for the sake of the serious message of the volume.

A chapter that stretches our notion of literacy, including critical literacy,
to the limit is Reynolds’ "Neo-Post-Urban-Noir Graphic Novels and Critical Literacy:
The Hard Connection" (21–35). The author offers a historical situating of the
neo-noir or post-noir graphic novel before exploring his use of Frank Miller’s
Sin City: The Hard Goodbye (2005) in a university course Literacy and
Language Across the Curriculum. Reynolds cites his students’ strong reactions to
the graphic novel, which, in the case of the female students, are characterised
by discomfort and shock at the misogynist and violent nature of the material. Yet
the students come to see how "in the portrayal of hidden urban environments
discussions can arise that lead to questioning of misogyny, race, class and social
justice" (31).

Simmons contributes a chapter on a "pop culture sensation" (77), The Hunger
Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay: "Class on Fire: Using
the Hunger Games Trilogy to Encourage Social Action" (77–95). The author connects
the trilogy to parallel human rights abuses in the real world and invokes the ardour
of adolescent students: "we have an abundance of fire in the form of passionate
students" (92); the chapter is convincing in its call for social action – with
concrete examples – inspired by the trilogy. Some readers may find the summarising
of the trilogy (Table 1, 79–80 and Table 2, 84–5, on the thirteen districts of
Panem) excessive, as this information can easily be found on the internet.

Paugh’s chapter "The Postmodern Picture Book: Reimagining Children’s Author'ity'
as Readers" (97–115) outlines the opportunities for teachers to allow children to
co-construct ideas and gain authority over texts in English language arts classes.
The author includes a useful typology of features of postmodern picture books,
collected from leading research publications such as those of Dresang and Pantaleo
(107–8). Although the concept of literacy as power is not new (Anstey is referenced
for example as well as Freire and Macedo), these practices "are still largely
invisible within current school discourses" (99), and therefore the chapter fulfils
an important function in highlighting these educationally versatile texts for
readers not yet familiar with them.

The concern with encouraging powerful thinking and students "as agents capable
of constructing meaning" (151) continues with Rychly and Lake’s chapter "Exploring
the Tensions between Narrative Imagination and Official Knowledge through the
Life of Pi" (151–64). The authors use Yann Martel’s (2001) richly imaginative
award-winning fantasy adventure novel to explain the importance of metaphorical
thinking and imagination in education. With reference to Lakoff and Johnson, they
suggest that "metaphor is fundamental to the process of thinking and communicating"
(155). The authors succinctly express the fear of many educators in the context
of today’s standards-driven classrooms: "If we insist on practicing as though there
is only one way to read something and only one possible way to interpret, summarize,
or respond to it, then we run the risk of eliminating a need to read at all" (161).

This book has much to recommend it for its closeness to the classroom and the
needs of 21st century students to find the agency to think for themselves in a
complex world. But the extremely brief introduction and complete lack of an index
are drawbacks. I would wish a more rigorously edited edition to be on the horizon
for the near future. The volume, its message, and our students deserve it.